Montenegro's national parks, valleys and canyons

Montenegro has become a popular tourist destination thanks to its warm weather and beautiful beaches, but did you know it is also highly regarded for its rugged natural beauty?

You certainly have a treat in store if you set out to uncover Montenegro’s hidden gems – here majestic mountains, deep valleys and serene forests conceal mysterious lakes left behind after glaciers carved their way through the landscape; ancient churches built into sheer rock faces perch high above the plains; opalescent rivers cut their way through canyon floors.

The small Baltic country has five national parks which make up about 10 per cent of the country's territory, and include stunning canyons, mountains and lakes.

The largest of these parks are Durmitor and Lake Skadar both, around 40,000 hectares each. In these parks, winding dirt tracks snake up into the mountains and stony trails lead through lush hillsides. Out-of-the-way beauty spots lie hidden, known only to the locals.

The Black Lake, Durmitor National Park

Dinaric Alps

This mountain mass and national park in northwestern Montenegro is the second largest in the country. Formed by glaciers, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Durmitor National Park owes much of its beauty to the glimmering glacial lakes that nestle at the foot of craggy mountains.

The most well-known lake is Crno Lake (Black Lake); surrounded by deep pine forest, you can find several well-marked and maintained trails that will take you on an easy loop of the lake, allowing you to enjoy incredible views of its mirror-like surface.

The serene, reflective lakes add to the incredible beauty of this wild space and have earned themselves the nickname 'mountain eyes' (Gorske Oči).

The Durmitor massif is surrounded by canyons, with the Piva River Canyon to the west, Komarnica River Canyon to the south and the Tara River Canyon to the north. The east opens out to the Plateau of Lakes (Jezerska površ), with Sinjavina mountain beyond it.

Durmitor is known for its beautiful mountains, with 48 peaks above 2,000m. The national park's highest mountain is Bobotov Kuk, which reaches 2,523m (8,278ft) into the sky. Bobotov Kuk was not discovered until the mid 1800s, and for a long time was regarded as the highest mountain in Montenegro, until more recent surveys found higher peaks on the border with Albania.

Despite Bobotov Kuk being the tallest mountain in Durmitor it is not the most iconic. That title would go to Stožina, a distinctively shaped mountain whose name translates as 'the big straw pile'.

Kolašin municipality

One of the last three rainforests in Europe and founded in 1878, Biogradska Gora is the oldest of Montenegro’s National Parks, located in central Montenegro between the rivers Tara and Lim. It's the most northeasterly of Montenegro's national parks and the mountain ridges, temperate forest and glacial lakes have been recognised as a UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Biogradska Gora boasts a huge variety of microclimates and there are plenty of birds and other wildlife to look out for. The glacial lake, Lake Biograd, is picture-perfect – the crystal-clear waters reflect the green mountains, the blue sky and the fluffy white clouds with startling intensity.

Lake Skadar National Park

Albania-Montenegro border

Boasting water so fresh that it’s used as drinking water, Lake Skadar marks the boundary between Montenegro and Albania. It's Montenegro's largest national park, and the largest lake on the Balkan Peninsula.

The air here is filled with the scent of herbs, and you’ll find wild orchids growing amongst fruit and nut trees. Unsurprisingly for such a fertile area, this is Montenegro’s wine country, with over 30 commercial boutique wineries calling the region home.

Thanks to its unique habitat that blends Mediterranean and North African climates with one of the largest freshwater reserves in Europe Lake Skadar is well regarded for its birdlife, forming an important link between migratory birds from Africa and Siberia. This ancient migratory route provides essential resources for waterfowl in winter and is an important stopover point. Here you can find Eurasian spoonbills, short-toed snake eagles, pygmy cormorants and red-necked grebe. The national park is also home to the largest pelican species in the world, the Dalmatian pelican. This impressive bird, with a wingspan of 2m, is also the symbol of Lake Skadar.

As well as birds, the park is a haven for other species including amphibians, reptiles, insects and fish, with many protected species making it their home.

Upper Ostrog Monastery

Dinaric Alps

The Prokletije National Park is easily home to Montenegro’s most dramatic scenery. These dark, jagged vertical peaks form the border between Albania and Montenegro, and are often referred to as the Albanian Alps.

The name Prokletije translates as ‘cursed mountains’ and they are also known as the Accursed Mountains. Legend has it the devil himself created these mountains in a single day.

The Accursed Mountains are in the southernmost end of the Dinaric Alps, and stretch from Lake Skadar, along the Montenegro Albania border and right to southwest Kosovo. There are three national parks across the mountain range - one in Montenegro, one in Albania and one in Kosovo. Perhaps fittingly for the name, this region is so difficult to access it has not yet been fully explored. It is a large, rocky range without paths, and it's the second most glaciated range south of the Scandinavian ice sheet, after the Alps. Because of its remote location Prokletije National Park is not used by many people for hiking compared to other parks, and signage is inconsistent.

Large mammals roam here, including the Eurasian brown bear, European wildcat, grey wolf and the highly endangered Balkan lynx, a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx. A herd of 720 chamois (goat-antelopes) live on the border between Kosovo and Montenegro, and they can be seen jumping between jagged cliff faces.

Vrmac mountain

Dinara Alps

Lovćen is both a mountain and a national park found in southwestern Montenegro. This mountain region actually gives Montenegro its name – “black mountain.” The rocky limestone and dolomite slopes stand between the sea and the mainland, creating a uniquely variable climate with two separate biosystems and a huge amount of plant and animal species, including endemic plants such as the pretty Lovćenski bellflower.

As well as the beautiful natural landscape Lovćen National Park also serves to protect some historically significant buildings, including old katun houses. Katuns are traditional temporary settlements originally built for cattle farmers to live in over the summer months while their cattle grazed the mountainside. These simple wood or stone structures dot the mountainside and provide a glimpse back into simpler times.

An extension of Mount Lovćen is Vrmac, a mountain easily accessible from Tivat, situated on the peninsula between Tivat Bay and Kotor Bay. A tunnel runs through the mountain to connect Kotor with the Adriatic Highway. Because of its prime location and incredible views, it’s a very popular destination for hiking and mountain biking, while anyone with an interest in history can pop along to the ruins of Fort Vrmac, built in 1860.

Tara River Canyon

Dinartic Alps

Tara River Canyon is the deepest canyon in Europe and the second longest canyon in the world - only the Grand Canyon itself is longer. It is strikingly beautiful, with rocky walls covered in greenery towering above the crystal-clear blue waters of the river snaking below.

Here you’ll find a remarkable amount of waterfalls; so many that at certain times you can even hear the roar of the falling water from the edge of the canyon. The water is so pure Tara River was entered into the world's ecological biosphere preservations to protect it.

The Tara River Canyon winds through the northern edge of Durmithor National Park and attracts visitors from all over to enjoy this beautiful outdoor space. The water is, of course, the main attraction here with white water rafting being particularly popular with thrill seekers. The view from the water is certainly an impressive one, and perhaps preferable to some of the other popular ways of taking in the sights - bungee jumping off the Tara Canyon Bridge from a height of 172m, or zip lining across.

If you'd prefer to keep your feet on solid ground there are plenty of hiking trails to enjoy, and you can keep an eye out for some of the 80 or so large caves along this canyon, plus sandy beaches and pebbly terraces, making for an incredible landscape that makes a striking backdrop for any photography.

Upper Ostrog Monastery

Danilovgrad Municipality

Ostrog Monastery is widely considered to be the most beautiful monastery in Montenegro, as well as the most famous. Built into the side of a cliff 900m above sea level, it looks almost as though it was there first and the rocks grew around it.

From its perch on the Ostroška Greda rock overlooking the Zeta River valley, the Serbian Orthodox Church monastery commands incredible views, but it isn’t just the photo opportunities that compel people to make the hike. Here lies the enshrined body of its founder Sveti Vasilije Ostroški (Saint Basil) and tens of thousands of visitors make the pilgrimage to pray for healing and blessings, making it one of the most popular pilgrimage routes in the Balkans, not just for Orthodox Christians but also Catholic and Muslim pilgrims.

Ostrog Monastery was originally established in the 17th century and renovated in the 1920s after a fire destroyed a large part of the complex. Thankfully, its two cave-churches survived the fire and remain in good condition to this day, drawing in visitors from around the world.

Visit Montenegro, the rising star of the Mediterranean, for heart-stirring beauty and charming culture.